Chapter 404: Filial to Death
’Wouldn’t you know it, some people just deserve to have all their wishes come true. With that drive to fight, to snatch, to use every resource to pull someone into her grasp—if she doesn’t succeed, who will?’
Zane Lynch and the others felt their lips twitch uncontrollably, but they had to admit that Arabella Donovan had a point.
In any case, the matter was now considered settled.
First Uncle, having lost all face and his reputation in tatters, glared at Arabella Donovan with murder in his eyes.
He wanted to deny everything but feared provoking Arabella Donovan’s defiant nature, which might lead her to expose even more of his dirty little secrets. In the end, he could only retreat in unwilling defeat.
With First Uncle now the main topic of conversation—a veritable lightning rod for controversy—Walter Rhodes’s previous sex scandals suddenly seemed like no big deal.
Having successfully escaped the storm of public opinion by "relying on his father" in the most bizarre way, Rhodes let out a huge sigh of relief.
Once he had recovered, he immediately sidled up to his mother to comfort her. "Mom, don’t be sad. Dad was definitely in the wrong here. How could he do something like that? It’s just too much! Tell you what, when we get back, you should change the beneficiary on that insurance policy to my name. That way, even if you, you know, were to meet an unfortunate end, at least he wouldn’t get the money."
Walter’s mother: "..."
The onlookers: "..."
’PFFT HAHAHA, now this is... filial piety to the extreme! You know what? You’d be better off living with your daughter-in-law. This son is completely unreliable!’
Zane Lynch and the others were also rendered speechless by Walter Rhodes’s masterstroke, and for a moment, they inexplicably felt that Arabella Donovan’s suggestion wasn’t half bad.
Thanks to the formidable track record of First Uncle and his son, Caspian Rhodes’s family experienced a rare taste of peace and quiet on the day of the ancestor worship ceremony.
Previously, as the family’s de facto leaders and heirs to the vast majority of its assets, Caspian Rhodes’s family would inevitably become the center of attention for all their relatives at this annual gathering, whether they liked it or not.
From the moment they arrived until the ceremony was over and they left, they were never short of company.
It was a stark contrast to the present, where their immediate vicinity was so deserted you could hear a pin drop. Most people only dared to sneak glances from a distance. Occasionally, someone would furtively point in their direction, as if helping a companion identify the few strangers in their group.
Beyond that, no one dared to approach and strike up a conversation. After all, it was hard to find anyone who had lived their whole life without a single thing weighing on their conscience.
If she targeted you, it would be far worse than simple social suicide. They weren’t about to trade one moment of extroversion for a lifetime of introversion.
This situation continued until several of Caspian Rhodes’s aunts arrived.
Although the Rhodes Family’s ancestor worship ceremony was laden with rules and grand in scale, it had one rather nice custom: daughters who had married into other families were allowed to return and participate.
Although these aunts of Caspian’s had taken some assets with them as a dowry when they married, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the family’s total wealth.
Since there were no conflicts of interest, Caspian’s family actually had a much better and more harmonious relationship with these aunts than with their uncles, who were always nursing ulterior motives and setting verbal traps for one another.
It was rare to see so few people around Caspian Rhodes’s family, and Third Miss, from the second grand-uncle’s branch, couldn’t help but look surprised as she walked in with her husband and daughter.
"What’s going on? In previous years, you couldn’t even squeeze your way through the crowd over here. It was difficult just to say hello. It’s so quiet this year."
Mrs. Rhodes took her cousin-in-law’s hand and couldn’t help but smile. "It’s all thanks to Serena."
"Serena? Who’s Serena?"
And so, the subsequent conversation turned into the Arabella Donovan show. First, they introduced who she was, and then they recounted her magnificent achievements.
After hearing the whole story, Third Miss and her family finally understood why Caspian’s family was so isolated.
Third Miss sized Arabella Donovan up, then leaned close to Mrs. Rhodes and whispered in her ear, "Is this young lady really that incredible?"
"The facts speak for themselves. If she weren’t, would all those people be avoiding her like the plague?"
Third Miss followed Mrs. Rhodes’s gaze and saw her own brothers gathered in another hall. They stood with heads bowed, their faces dark as they plotted some mischief. She pursed her lips, now mostly convinced.
"I never would have guessed that Caspian knew such a powerful master. I certainly didn’t expect such a master to be such a young and beautiful girl."
Unlike Walter Rhodes, who had been contemptuous and disdainful of Arabella Donovan’s age, Third Miss’s sigh was one of pure admiration, acknowledging that the younger generation was truly formidable. She used the moment to close the distance between them, and her very next words were...
"Master, since you’re so powerful, could you perhaps do a reading for my daughter?"
Everyone: "..." ’So all that flattery was just leading up to this, huh?’
Still, for her to proactively ask Arabella Donovan for a reading after knowing what happened to First Uncle’s family, she must have been quite confident in her own daughter’s character.
Arabella Donovan froze for a second, her eyes meeting those of the girl not far away, who looked to be only a few years older than her. The atmosphere instantly turned a bit awkward.
After a moment, Arabella Donovan cleared her throat and asked tentatively, "What is it you want to know about her?"
"Can I ask about anything?"
"...Knowing too much isn’t always a good thing."
Third Miss was taken aback, her expression turning somewhat pleading as she looked at Arabella Donovan.
Arabella Donovan stared back at her for a long moment before sighing. "Have you ever had her annual fortunes charted?"
Charting annual fortunes is a practice that uses a person’s "eight characters"—their birth date and time—to roughly calculate their luck for each year, from birth up to a certain age, as well as any major events that might occur.
Third Miss’s eyes lit up. "Yes, we have! We had it done for her when she was a child, up to age twelve. It wasn’t very accurate, though. It failed to predict that she would be hospitalized for a long time when she was eight."
"Would you mind telling me her birth date and time?"
"Of course, of course." Third Miss was about to tell Arabella Donovan her daughter’s birth information right then and there, but Arabella stopped her.
"Just tell me, and no one else. You shouldn’t casually share someone’s birth information with others, especially not strangers. Furthermore, our meeting today can be considered fate, so I’ll do a reading for your daughter this once. But you shouldn’t just ask anyone for a reading whenever you feel like it. In my line of work, we have a saying: the more you have your fortune told, the ’thinner’ your destiny becomes. For a mere mortal to peek at the secrets of heaven, knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing."
Arabella Donovan’s words sent a shock through everyone present. Third Miss, now even more convinced of her abilities, leaned in close and gave Arabella her daughter’s birth information.
Arabella took one look at her cousin’s birth information, then pinched her fingers, calculating for a good while before she spoke. "From this young lady’s eight characters, she has the rare and auspicious fate of a ’Taiji Nobleman.’ Throughout her life, she will meet many benefactors, and her path will be smooth and peaceful. Even if she encounters setbacks, she will be able to turn danger into safety. Her later years will be especially happy and comfortable, blessed with many children and grandchildren. However..."